The Proposal
by Random-1985
Summary: Rick has a plan, but in usual Rick Castle style, it doesn't all go to plan.


_**Just a little something I came up with when I had nothing else to do. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**_

* * *

It was late afternoon when Detective Beckett finally got a confession from their lead suspect. Castle was relieved to know that this murder was not going to ruin his plans for the evening. As long as no more murders happened in the next 2 hours, he had the most romantic evening planned for Kate and himself. He'd been planning this evening for weeks but as Kate was a homicide detective, it didn't matter how much planning he'd put into it, sometimes work just got in the way. He watched her as she walked with the accused and spoke to the two officers taking him to the holding cell. Even after spending 5 years in the precinct with her, it still amazed him how well she did her job. How she could break even the toughest suspects, and how after a grueling interrogation, she could still come out looking more beautiful than she did when she went in. It filled him with a sense of joy knowing that she was all his, she loved him, no one else, just him.

Beckett made her way over to her desk where Castle was waiting in his own chair, giving him a smile that he knew she saved just for him.

"Well, I'm glad that one's over," she said, as she sat down. "I just have to finish the paperwork and then I can get outta here. How about you?"

"I, Detective Beckett, wish I could help you with your paperwork," he said with a grin. "But I should be getting back to do some of my own writing" He put emphasis on the word writing while sending a wink in Beckett's direction.

They both knew he was not going home to do any writing, Castle just didn't like doing paperwork and today, he was going home to prepare for the evening. An evening they were both looking forward to.

"So, I guess I will see you tomorrow then."

"I'll walk you out," she said.

The pair made their way to the elevator and stood waiting for it. Each of them had a slight grin that they were trying very hard to keep to themselves.

Most of the precinct was aware of their current relationship status, but they still liked to keep it on the down low. It was their personal life after all. They liked to keep things professional in the workplace. The elevator however, was not considered the workplace.

Once on the elevator and the doors were closed, they knew they had some privacy. It may not be long, but it was long enough for Castle to pin Beckett to the back of the elevator and find her lips with his own, kissing her hard and fast. It was just long enough for her to run her fingers up his chest, giving him goose bumps and clasping her hands around the back of his neck to pull him a little closer. As soon as they heard the elevator ding, they knew they had to back off and stand apart. They had almost been caught out a couple of times, but no one had ever said anything, so they were pretty sure they got away with it.

The elevator doors opened, and they both left the elevator making their way for the door to the street.

"One year Kate, can you believe that? And you had doubts about us," Castle said.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted we could make this work. And honestly Castle, just one year? I think it's been longer than that," she bumped his shoulder with hers and gave him a smile.

"Ok, so one year since we made it official," he said wiggling his eyebrows at her, which she responded to with a playful slap to his arm.

"We did do some pretty crazy dancing around each other for a few years before that," she added.

They shared a moment of brief silence, reminiscing in their heads of the four years they spent together without being together.

"So tonight… The night for just us. I'll pick you up at 7", he said.

"See you then. Don't be late."

"I promise, I'll be there on time. I have the night planned and I don't want to miss a minute of it."

Kate watched as Castle hailed a cab and then went back inside twirling her hair around her finger. She wished she could just leave right now with him, but she had paperwork to finish.

* * *

"Dad! When will you ever learn? That tie does not go with that shirt."

Alexis came over with another tie in her hand and passed it to Castle. She was such a help to him when it came to dressing himself right. Castle smiled as they traded ties, and Alexis couldn't help but notice the slight shake of his hand.

"Are you alright? You're a little bit shaky? You're not nervous for tonight are you?"

"Me? Nervous? Nooooooo" Castle said, giving his best fake smile. "Why would I be nervous?"

"Exactly. Dad, you don't need to be nervous. You've been planning this evening for weeks. It's going to be perfect. What could possibly go wrong?"

"This is me Alexis. What could possibly go right?" Castle finished with his tie and started making his way to the lounge room with Alexis following close behind.

"Everything will be fine. You've got all you need. You can do this. Now go or you're going to be late"

"Ok, ok, I'm going," he says as he makes his way through the door and turns towards Alexis kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks, you know just how to give me the push I need! What would I do without you? Good night Alexis, don't wait up"

Alexis closed the door behind him and he made his way to the elevator. Stopping half way down the hall he had a sudden realization. There was one thing he had forgotten to do.

He made his way back through the door of his loft and said to Alexis. "I've got to run an errand, hopefully it wont take too long, but it might. If Kate calls, let her know that I'm on my way. No need to worry!"

"What? Dad?"

Castle ran back out the door, "thanks Alexis", he called behind him without any further explanation.

* * *

Kate was lucky and had managed to get home from work by 5pm which gave her 2 hours to get herself ready for the night. She usually wasn't one to spend too long getting ready but she liked the idea of having extra time to make sure she looked perfect for the evening. She wasn't sure what Castle had planned but she knew he had planned something special for the two of them.

The first thing she did when she walked through the door was run herself a warm bath filling it with bubbles. A bubble bath was the one thing she found relaxing when she was alone after a hard day at work, and today, with the suspects she had, was one of those hard days. Stepping into the bathtub she just felt all her muscles relax and she let her mind drift away.

She was right when she told Castle that one year really wasn't the extent of the relationship, it had really been going for a while before that, they just never really admitted it to each other or to themselves for that matter. She thought back over the past year and realised how different she had become. She was happier, there was more to her life than finding her mothers killer, she had someone who cared about her so much they would put their own life at risk. She didn't like that so much, but it was nice to know that he cared that much about her. Kate was never sure she would ever find someone like that. She had always hoped there would be and that she would be ready for them when they came along. And when she met Castle, she would never have imagined that it would be him that she fell in love with, but now she was very much in love with him and was excited for what their future held.

While soaking in the bath she started picturing what their life would be like together. She could imagine a family with him, she could imagine celebrating many birthdays and Christmas's together. She could see it all.

"What if that's not what he wants?" she suddenly thought to herself. "Am I wasting my time with him?"

After a few moments of doubt, Kate convinced herself that she was definitely not wasting her time, and she hopped out of the bathtub to get herself ready for the evening.

Kate found a long black strapless dress and some heels to go with it. She applied her makeup, just enough to make her eyes sparkle and she tied her hair up in a stylish bun. She knew Castle liked her hair up. He liked being able to place kisses down her neck without her hair getting in the way. She also knew that he liked being able to let her hair out himself and run his fingers through it. She had learnt so much about what he liked in the past year. She knew exactly how to dress, how to behave and what to do to make him giddy.

She was all ready to go by 6:55pm and was just waiting for Castle to come by and pick her up. When 7:15pm came along, she sent him a text.

_Where are you?_

A few minutes later she received a reply.

_Wont be too long. Just have to make a quick stop. _

30 minutes later and there was still no sign of Castle. Beckett was starting to feel annoyed. She kicked off her shoes and sat down on her couch. Picking up her phone, she thought she'd try calling him, but it only went to voicemail.

"Rick. Seriously, if this is your idea of a joke. It's not funny! Where are you?"

A part of her was staring to worry. It wasn't like Castle to be this late. It wasn't like him to not answer his phone. Then again, he did say he had to make a quick stop, maybe he got held up.

She decided she'd call his home phone. Maybe someone there would know what's happening. Alexis answered the phone and said something about an important errand that could not wait and he wouldn't be long. Even Alexis didn't really have any idea where he was, but she said that there was nothing to worry about.

By the time it was 8:05pm, Kate had given up on waiting. Whatever it was that Rick was doing was obviously more important to him that she was. Maybe she was right earlier, maybe she was just wasting time with him.

She sent him one last message.

_"Don't bother tonight Castle. Something more important is obviously going on"_

She placed the phone down and she felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks.

* * *

Meanwhile, Castle got out of his car and quickly looked at his phone, noticing the text from Kate that he had received while he was driving.

_Where are you?_

He quickly responded, and then threw his phone back in the car.

_Wont be too long. Just have to make a quick stop. _

Running up to the front door, he knocked and patiently waited to be let inside.

"Castle? What a pleasant surprise. Is Kate with you?" Jim Beckett asked as he opened the door.

"Ah, no. She doesn't know that I'm here. Can I come in?"

Jim opened the door wider and let Castle in, offering a drink in which Castle refused.

"So, what's happened to my Katie? Is she ok?" Mr Beckett asked worried.

"Oh, no no no! Nothing like that. It's just, it's our anniversary today, and I felt it was important that I come see you."

"Castle, you've got that all wrong. You should be out with Kate, not with me."

Jim noticed the same thing that Alexis had noticed earlier, Rick was a lot more shaky than usual. It was almost like he was nervous or something.

"Are you sure you don't want a drink, you look nervous. I'm really not that scary am I, Castle?"

Rick forced out a small laugh and shook his head.

"Mr Beckett, sir, you know that I care very deeply for Kate"

Jim nodded.

"Well…. I am just going to come out and say it." Castle froze.

"Yes?" Jim waited patiently for Castle to continue.

"I'd like to marry your daughter. I was going to ask her tonight, then realised, it would be rude for me to ask her without talking to you first," he said speaking really fast.

Jim looked at Castle with a serious expression. "I knew this day was coming Castle, so I've been prepared for a while. Sit down and lets talk"

Jim poured Castle a glass of water and sat opposite him at the table.

"I have a few questions for you. I already know the answers to some but I am going to ask anyway."

Castle took a sip of water and got himself ready, suddenly feeling more nervous than he thought was possible. It was not like him to be nervous. He was usually too confident for his own good.

"So, I'll start with the easy ones shall I? When did you first meet Kate?"

"That's easy, At my launch party of my Storm Falls novel. I'll never forget that day. I was just saying to my daughter how I wanted something different, and then well, in comes Kate. She was definitely different. She didn't fall immediately for my charm"

"And when was it that you fell in love with her?"

"It's hard to really say when. I started falling right back at the beginning and each day as I got to know her and learnt more about her, it grew a little more. And it continues to grow even now. She surprises me every day," he responded with a smile.

Mr Beckett continued to ask a number of questions, and Rick started to get squirmish. He had no idea how long he had been there, and he really just wanted to get to Kate.

Finally Jim got down to the last few questions.

"What kind of future do you see for the two of you?"

"We're going to be happy. Sure there'll be struggles, there always is but we're going to get through them all. I see us as a family. She already is part of my family. She cares for Alexis so much, I see that everytime they spend time together. She's going to make such a great mother."

"If Kate was no longer a detective, and no longer muse for your Nikki Heat novels, will you still love her?"

"Of course" he said, almost shocked that Jim would ask such a questions, "don't get me wrong, she is great at her job, but that's not what makes me love her. It's her strength, her determination, her smile, her personality, everything about her. None of that could ever really disappear. It's the things that make Kate… Kate."

Rick smiled to himself thinking about her, and Jim noticed. He knew that Rick was the one for his little girl, he'd known for a while, but he still felt it was his duty to make sure Castle was ready.

"And lastly, will you treat her right?"

"I will, Mr Beckett. You don't have to worry about that. I will treat her better than right. I will always support her, I will comfort her when she needs it, I'll be there through everything, I will love her through everything, even when marriage is hard on both of us, I will stick by her side. When she tries to push me away, I wont let her. I'll be there for her. Always. That's my promise not only to her, but to you, sir"

"Well, you pass! You made it through all my questions! Go make my daughter happy."

Jim gave Rick a quick hug with a pat on the back and walked him to the door.

"You look after my Katie"

"I will," Rick replied walking back to his car.

When Rick got back to his car the first thing he did was look at his phone. It was now 8:15pm, he had missed calls and a message from Kate. Not only was he now extremely late, but she probably thought he was ignoring her.

Castle dialed her number immediately.

"Kate, I'm so sorry. I got caught up. I had to do this one thing before coming to see you and it took a lot longer than expected. I'll be there soon."

Rick wasn't quite sure what the response was, it was quite muffled, it sounded like Kate had been crying. All he knows is that she briefly said something, then hung up.

This was not looking good.

* * *

Kate decided after sending her last text to Castle that she wasn't going to sit around and wait any longer. With tears rolling down her face she went back to her room, removed her make up, let her hair out and changed into leggings and a comfortable top

She poured herself some juice and went back to sit in the lounge room to watch tv, and that when she heard her phone ringing. She saw Castle's face light up on the screen. Seeing his face just made the tears start falling again, and she didn't want to answer it, but there was a little voice inside her head telling her to give him a chance, so she answered.

He apologized and said he'd be there soon, but Kate didn't want to see him. Through tears she said "I don't think I want to see you tonight" and she hung up.

She didn't know if he was still going to show. A part of her didn't want him to, but there was a part that still wanted him to come. She was hurt, but she still loved him. She couldn't just turn off her feelings for him. Tonight would have been so much easier if she could. She needed to talk to someone, she needed to talk to a friend, so she called Lanie.

When Lanie answered the phone, she knew immediately that something was wrong with Kate. It was unlike her to be in tears on the phone, especially since she'd been so happy lately. Kate told Lanie what had happened, that Rick had found something that was more important to go do and that she just wasn't sure anymore about whether he was in this the way that she thought he was.

Lanie did her best to reassure Beckett that Rick loved her, that whatever it was that he had to do must have been important, because it would be unlike Rick to ever do something if he knew it was going to hurt her.

"He waited 4 years for you Beckett, he wants this as much as you do," Lanie told her.

But it didn't seem to matter what Lanie said, Kate's mind had been made up. Sometimes her stubbornness was just too strong for anyone to get through. Kate had decided that Castle did not care about tonight as much as she did.

It wasn't long after Lanie and Kate hung up that Beckett heard a knock at the door. She knew straight away that it was Castle on the other side. Although she was glad he came because it meant that he did care, she still no longer wanted to spend the evening with him.

* * *

Kate opened the door to see Castle standing there with a sheepish smile.

"I'm so sorry Kate."

"Rick, you're more than an hour late," Kate said sternly.

"I can explain. Let's just go out and it'll all make sense. I promise"

"You promise? I don't know how many more of your promises I can believe Castle! You promised you wouldn't be late. You promised me it would just be about us tonight. You promised me romance! Honestly what could have come up that was more important than spending our anniversary together. You said you had the whole night planned. Did you plan to be this late? Seriously, Did you think it would be funny? I was worried about you Castle. Alexis said I shouldn't worry, but when you weren't answering your phone, you weren't here, what else was I meant to do. I'm a cop Castle, you know the things I see and hear every day. How could you do this to me?" She looked down at the ground afraid she would start crying if she looked at him.

"Kate, look at me," he said as he lifted her chin to face him. "I really am sorry, and I can explain. It's not too late to still have our special night."

Kate slapped his hand away. "No Castle! Look, I'm not even dressed to go out! Please leave."

Kate could no longer hold in the tears. She didn't want to seem this vulnerable in front of him, but she'd let him into so much of her life now that she could no longer stop herself from showing how she was feeling in front of him.

Castle didn't like to see his Kate cry, it really wasn't the way this night was meant to go. Atleast, in his mind any tears shed would be tears of joy, not of anger and sadness. He reached out to her and took her in his arms.

Kate was not in the mood for comforting from the guy who made her feel like this, she pushed him away immediately and back out the door.

"Castle, go home!" she screamed at him, and slammed the door in his face.

"Kate, wait, please," he begged. "Open the door, I can explain"

"Castle, just go home! I don't want to fight with you tonight."

Castle didn't know what else to do. Now was definitely not a good time to bring up marriage, he wanted a happy environment, not an angry one. And he couldn't tell her where he had been because it would take away the surprise. The only thing left for him to do was go home, and give her some space. He would call her later to make sure she was ok. Maybe he could call Lanie and ask Lanie to go around to check on her. No, she is too clever for that. She'd probably push Lanie away too knowing that he had sent her.

"Ok Kate, I'm going home. I'll call you later, I'm sorry. I love you," he said softly and made his way out of the building.

Kate stood at her closed door, and again, let the tears fall. Her whole body felt weak. She rested her back against the door and slid down to sit on the floor, where she stayed for a while, until she knew she could stand again.

* * *

****Castle walked in the front door, took off his jacket and hung it over the lounge chair. Alexis came racing down stair to see him.

"You're home early. How did it go? Where's Kate? Did she say yes? Why…" she stopped before she asked any further questions, noticing that Kate had not come in with her father and the sad expression on his face.

"Oh Dad, what happened? Did she really say no?" Alexis ran to Castle wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could. She knew she couldn't heal any hurt he was feeling, but she could try.

Castle stroked Alexis hair. "I didn't get a chance to ask. I went to see her father, which took longer than I thought, and so I was late. She didn't want to see me."

"Oh Dad, I'm sorry. Did you explain?" Alexis said giving him some space to walk further into the loft.

"No, she didn't want to hear anything I had to say. And if I told her where I'd been, I would have ruined the surprise. I'm just going to give her some space. I'll make it up to her, just not tonight."

Castle made his way into the office leaving Alexis standing shocked by the doorway. She couldn't believe how messed up it all sounded. Her dad was so excited about the evening, he'd shared his plans with his daughter and they sounded amazing. It was hard to believe that it wouldn't be happening now. Kate didn't know what she was missing out on.

Alexis knew that her father needed time and space to himself, so she made her way back up to her room, leaving him in peace.

* * *

Kate managed to get up off the floor and tidy herself up again. The tears had stopped and she decided to go back to the tv. She could have gone to bed, but she just didn't feel like going alone right now. Even though it was her choice to send Castle home, she now missed him and wished she gave him a chance. She just wasn't sure how she could apologise now. She knew Castle would try calling, so she would wait until then.

She almost jumped out of her chair when her phone rang, but it wasn't Rick. It was her father.

"Hi dad"

"Sorry Kate, I hate to interrupt on a night like this, but I just had to call"

"What do you mean? A night like this?"

"It's a special night for you two."

"Us two?" Beckett asked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I've called too early. Is Castle not there yet?"

"Dad, I sent him home. He was over an hour late. I just don't think he's as serious about this relationship as I thought. I needed some space."

"You should go see him. It's my fault he was late. He came to see me, he said he was coming to spend the evening with you but he had to come see me first. And I may have kept him a little too long."

"Castle saw you… today?" Kate asked, wondering why Castle would go see her father on his own without telling her.

"Yes, he was here just a couple of hours ago"

"Why?"

"I have probably already said too much. Just go see him! I'm sorry again. Love you Katie"

With that, Mr Beckett hung up and left Kate with her thoughts.

Kate put her phone down on the coffee table and sat down going over the events of the evening. Castle was late because she went to ask her father a question which then resulted in him being asked a lot of questions by her father. Why didn't Rick tell her where he had been. She would have understood, would have given him a chance to explain.

Kate was left with her thoughts for 15 minutes before putting the pieces of the puzzle together. She did need to go and see Castle. She needed to go right now. She quickly ran and changed into her dress again, reapplied her make up. This night could still be special. A few minutes later, she was racing out the door.

* * *

Castle sat in his dark office, twirling the little jewellery box around in his fingers. "Maybe it is too soon. Maybe she's not ready. Maybe there are still doubts in her mind about us," he thought to himself.

He opened the ring box, looking down at the beautiful white gold diamond ring he had bought her. He remembers spending so long in the jewellery store picking out the perfect ring. Nothing too big that it would get in the way while she worked, but nothing so small that people wouldn't see it. He wanted people to know she was taken. She was his. What he found was just right. It was Kate's ring, he couldn't imagine it on anyone else. If now wasn't the right time to propose, he would save the ring until the time was right.

As he sat staring at the ring, he didn't hear the knock at the front door or Alexis bouncing down the stairs to answer it, but when the lights to his office flickered on and he finally looked up from the ring, Kate was standing there in his doorway, dressed up and smiling at him with apologetic eyes. Castle fumbled with the ring and quickly hid it away in his desk, hoping Kate hadn't seen the box.

"Kate…" he said remaining seated and just staring at the beautiful woman walking towards him.

She looked stunning, her dressed hugged her figure in all the right places, her eyes were sparkling and the way she looked at him was filled with love. This was not the same Kate that Rick saw when he was kicked out of her house.

"I'm sorry, I over reacted earlier," she continued walking towards his desk.

Rick was speechless, which didn't happen very often, but the way she was walking towards him, and the love and confidence she suddenly had was enough to knock him off his feet.

"Kate, you, aaah, you look amazing," he managed to sputter out.

Kate smiled. "My dad called, he said…"

As soon as Kate mentioned her dad Castle jumped up out of his seat, "what did he say?"

"He said you went by to see him today, and it's his fault you were late. Why didn't you tell me that's where you were?"

By now Kate was standing just an arms reach away from Castle, and she stopped.

"I wanted to, but it would have ruined my surprise for you Kate. You know I don't like a ruined surprise."

Rick reached his hand out to grab hers and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. She responded by lifting her arms and placing them around his neck and playing with his hair at the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that. I thought you were just playing one of your silly games again, but you weren't were you?"

"No," Rick said, pouting his lips and shaking his head side to side like a child who's in trouble.

Rick's expression made Kate giggle a little. And she gave him a very quick kiss on the lips, she then let go of his neck and pulled back a little, running her hands down his arms until they stood hand in hand.

"He said you had a question for him," she continue.

"You figured it out didn't you? You know why I saw your father, you know why I was late and you know why I wanted tonight to be special," Rick said, feeling a little upset that his surprise was no longer really a surprise, but still so happy to see Kate was no longer upset or angry with him.

"Well, I am a detective, Mr Castle!" She said with a laugh.

Rick took a few steps back, and sat back down at his desk.

"Kate, this isn't how tonight was meant to be. I had a plan. I messed it all up."

"Rick, since when do plans ever work for us?" She walked closer stepping into the V of his legs. "We can still make tonight special."

She then closed the gap between the two of them kissing him deeply. Letting him know with everything that she had that she was sorry for the night not being the night he had planned.

They were so caught up in each other that they didn't hear Martha coming into the office.

"Oh sorry," Martha said, getting both Rick and Kates attention. "I left my gloves in here earlier, am I interrupting something?"

"Yes mother," Rick said glaring in her direction.

"Oh sorry again, I guess I'll get them later. Hi Kate," she said as she slowly backing out of the office staring strangely at Kate's hands.

Rick rolled his eyes at his mother, then looked back to Kate, who was lost in thought trying to decide whether Martha really did leave gloves in the office or if she had just come up with the excuse to see if she could get information on their night.

"So have you eaten?" Rick asked.

"No. You?"

"No. We'll be way too late for our reservation now. Sorry!"

Kate smiled. "Order in? Chinese? No one said a special night had to involve going out anywhere."

"Sure," Rick replied. "Order it to your place, now that mother is home, I don't think we'll have any privacy. I'll just go to the bathroom then I'll meet you in the lounge."

Rick kissed Kate softly on the cheek, and she stood off his lap making her way to the lounge. He watched her as she left the room, still amazed at how lucky he was to have such a beautiful woman all to himself.

After going to the bathroom Rick quickly picked up the ring from his desk and met Kate, who had just finished ordering the Chinese, at the door. He picked up his jacket that was still sitting over the top of the chair and took Beckett arm in arm out the door back to her apartment.

* * *

When they arrive at Kate's apartment, the delivery boy with Chinese was already there waiting for them. Rick paid the young boy while Kate opened the door to her apartment.

"Champagne?" she asked.

Rick nodded and took the Chinese to the lounge setting it down on the coffee table. While Kate got the champagne it left Rick to think about how he was going to propose. Although she knew it was coming, he still wanted it to be special. It may not be so much a surprise, but it can still be perfect. And Kate deserved perfect.

Castle thought about hiding the ring in the champagne glass, but decided it was too cliché. Hiding it in the food he decided would be much too messy. He thought about just hiding it in the couch, but then had no idea where to go from there, but the way things had been going, he'd probably end up losing the ring. Then he thought maybe he could just put it on the table and see how long it took her to notice. No, not Castle-y enough. In the end, his plan was to enjoy the meal and the champagne and when the time was right he would know. Well, he hoped he would know.

It didn't take Kate long in the kitchen getting the champagne and glasses and she was soon sitting with Castle on the couch. They sat in almost complete silence as they ate their chinese and drank their champagne. The only conversation was that of their eyes. Both occasionally stopping and just watching the other. To someone looking in, it may seem a little unusual to see people well dressed and eating takeaway in their lounge, but it didn't bother them. They were enjoying themselves.

At one point Castle had a little bit of sauce on his chin, which Kate saw and laughed at.

"Rick, isn't it enough that you act like a child sometimes, do you have to eat like one too? You've got sauce on your face," she said in fun.

"What are you talking about?" he said, knowing exactly where the sauce was but pretending not to. "There's no sauce on my face, just in my mouth." He placed a mouthful of food in his mouth and opened it wide. "See?"

"Gross, Castle!" Kate laughed at him, and then used her thumb to wipe away the sauce. Before she was able to wipe it on her napkin, Rick stopped her.

"Hey! Don't waste that, it's good sauce." He grabbed her hand, and covered her thumb with his mouth, removing the sauce the she had wiped from his chin. "Mmmm!" he said, wagging his eyebrows.

Kate just rolled her eyes, wiped her thumb on Castle's suit and went back to her food.

Castle watched her for a moment, then went back to eating too.

When they were just about finished Castle put down his food and spoke again.

"I'm sorry Kate"

Kate stopped eating, and placed her food down too, looking at Castle confused. "What for?"

"This isn't the romantic evening I had planned. I just wanted it to be about us."

"I don't see anyone else in the room. This is just about us. We don't need to go out to have a romantic evening, we can do that here." And then she got up and walked over to the stereo turning on some music.

Have I Told You Lately started playing.

_"Have I told you lately that I love you  
Have I told you there's no one else above you  
Fill my heart with gladness  
Take away all my sadness  
Ease my troubles that's what you do"_

As the music played, Kate walked over to Castle, who was watching her intently, she took him by the hands and helped him stand to his feet.

"Dance with me Rick," she said, and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around the small of her back. She slid her hands behind his neck and they stood cheek to cheek.

They swayed and danced together, Rick occasionally placing kisses along Kate's neck. After a short time Rick felt something wet fall on his cheek. Kate had tears in her eyes.

"Kate, what's wrong?"

"Nothing Rick, it's just you. You are too wonderful to me. I kicked you out of my house a few hours ago, and now, here you are anyway, dancing with me, kissing me, just simply being with me and I don't know why, how do you put up with me"

"I love you, I don't have to put up with you, I just simply love you."

He pulled her in close again and she laid her head on his chest, just resting there in a tender embrace.

They felt like they could have stayed there forever but the moment was interrupted when Kate's phone suddenly started to ring.

"No, not a murder now," she thought to herself, stepping back from Castle and looking at her phone. Much to her surprise it was her dad again.

"Sorry Rick. I have to get this, it's my dad. If I don't answer he'll just keep ringing or he'll start to worry."

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere," Rick responded.

Kate went to her bedroom to take the call. While she was gone Rick threw away the empty food containers, and refilled their champagne glasses. He still wasn't completely sure how, but he knew now was the time to ask the question, as long as the phone call with her dad was not upsetting in any way. Rick then proceeded to move the furniture to the edges of the room.

When Kate returned, she had a smile on her face.

"Good," Castle thought. "It wasn't a bad phone call."

Kate's smile then turned into a somewhat confused look, due to the furniture all being out of place.

"Rick? Are you rearranging my furniture because, I'm not sure I like it all around the edges of the room."

"Yes, well I thought I could use the extra space."

Kate was now just a few steps in front of Castle. "Space for what exactly?"

Rick ran the last few steps towards Kate picked her up in his arms, and twirled her around. "To twirl you around of course. A dance isn't a dance without lots of spinning."

She laughed as he spun and then they both fell to the floor.

Kate could not remember the last time she had been spun around like that, probably not since she was a kid. Due to feeling a little dizzy, she just lay there on her back for a while. She could hear Castle crawling about on the floor around her and the next thing she knew, he was lying next to her on his back. She turned her head to look at him and he stared into her eyes. He reached out to hold the hand that was closest to him in between the two of them, pulled it up to his mouth, kissed it then held it into his chest.

It was then his turn for his phone to ring. It was impossible for them to get through a night without distractions. He pulled his phone from his pocket without letting go of Kate's hand. He saw that it was his mother, quickly answered it, still not leaving Beckett's side.

"Is everything alright? Yes? Ok. Well, for the rest of the night, you are only to contact me in an emergency situation. I will tell you everything tomorrow," he said, then turned his phone to silent and slid it along the floor as far away as possible.

"No more interuptions," he said to Kate.

And with that Kate pulled out her phone, turned it on silent and slid it across the floor with his.

"No more interuptions," she repeated.

Of course they knew they were going to have to fetch their phones at some point, but right now they just wanted to focus on each other. Still laying on their backs, they both stared up at the ceiling waiting for the other to talk.

"Kate, I'm sure you know what I really wanted for tonight, and I had it all planned. I seriously thought tonight would be a lot different, but what I really wanted for tonight was just to be about you and me. And that's what we have made it. Tonight, despite it's rocky beginning, has been amazing. You are amazing," they both turned their faces towards each other, "and I want to have so many more of these nights together. Kate, I love you. I love everything about you. You helped me become a better man, you helped me grow up. You aren't just inspiration to my writing, you are inspiration to my life."

Castle then sat himself up and spun around to face Kate, and helped lift her up so she too was sitting. He pulled a small box from his jacket and held it out to her.

"Kate, I see a future with you. I see always with you. Marry me?"

Kate looked at him with a serious expression. "Let me think about it," she said.

Castle look shocked, that was not the response he expected at all. "Seriously?" he said with his mouth wide open.

Kate couldn't keep her serious face for long, soon it was breaking into a great smile. "Gosh Rick. If I wasn't going to say yes, do you think I would have come round to apologise when I realised what was going on. If I wasn't going to say yes, don't you think I would have just stayed here freaking out."

"So you're saying yes then?" Castle asked.

"YES! But seriously first, before you put the ring on my finger, can you please help me up off the floor, it's really not all that comfortable."

Rick jumped up from where he was, and immediately went around behind Kate helping her up off the floor. Once standing she turned to face Castle with a smile that lit up her whole face. It was happiness and love all over. Castle took Kate's hand and proceeded to place the ring on her finger. Once it was on, Castle pulled Kate in an embrace so close that they were sure they were almost able to occupy the same space at the same time. Both Rick and Kate had tears of joy welling up in their eyes. Five years ago when they met, they never expected they would end up here.

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**_Well that's it. Feel free to review... or not :) _**


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